U.S. stocks finished lower on Friday, capping off the...
U.S. stocks finished lower on Friday, capping off the worst week for the S&P 500 since early September. Creeping doubts about a December interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve helped interrupt a post-election rally.
Economic data on inflation and retail sales, coupled with comments from senior Fed officials about there being no big rush to cut rates, including from Chair Jerome Powell, weighed on investors' minds this week. Investors also cast a wary eye toward the Treasury market, as the yield on the 10-year note touched a six-month high earlier on Friday, FactSet data showed.
Here is where stocks finished, based on preliminary data from FactSet:
The S&P 500 closed down 78.55 points, or 1.3% lower at 5,870.
The Nasdaq Composite was down by 427.53 points, or 2.2%, at 18,680.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 305.87 points, or 0.7%, at 43,444.99
The amount of U.S. working gas in storage hit approximately 3.97 Tcf...
The amount of U.S. working gas in storage hit approximately 3.97 Tcf in the first week of November, rising above the five-year historical range tracked by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the government agency reported Nov. 14. Hotter-than-average temperatures across the Northeast U.S. drove down demand.
U.S. natural gas inventories increased by 42 billion cubic feet last week to 3,974 Bcf, and were 228 Bcf or 6.1% above the five-year average for the week, the EIA reports. The injection into storage was roughly in line with the 44 Bcf average estimate in a Wall Street Journal survey of analysts, and larger than the five-year average injection of 29 Bcf. As of next week, the EIA will use an updated survey sample for estimating gas storage, and will publish revised numbers for the weeks of September 20-November 8, on Monday.
Tropical Storm Sara closes in on ‘life-threatening’ and ‘potentially catastrophic’ impact with Central America
Tropical Storm Sara is unleashing heavy rainfall in northeastern...
Tropical Storm Sara is unleashing heavy rainfall in northeastern Honduras, with life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides anticipated this weekend, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Sara has maximum sustained winds of 45 mph as of early Friday morning, and further strengthening is possible in the coming days if the storm center largely stays offshore from Honduras’ northern coast.
Sara, which formed Thursday afternoon as it closed in on the Honduras-Nicaragua border, is the 18th named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. It’s a season that’s lived up to initial hyperactive forecasts and hasn’t played by the rules.
Tropical activity should be winding down in November, but Sara is now the third named storm this month thanks to exceptionally warm water wrought by climate change.
Dutch court overturns 2021 ruling on Shell emissions cuts
A Dutch court has reversed a ruling from 2021 that required Shell to...
A Dutch court has reversed a ruling from 2021 that required Shell to accelerate its emissions reductions, siding with Shell's argument that precise percentage targets for emissions cuts are not feasible for oil and gas companies. "Some sectors are more difficult to make sustainable than others," the judges said. The outcome could affect future and ongoing legal challenges involving oil and gas majors.
The planned shutdowns of two major refineries next year, coupled with...
The planned shutdowns of two major refineries next year, coupled with improving fuel demand, will usher in a period of stability for US refiner margins following two years of declines, the Energy Information Administration predicts. US refining capacity is projected to drop to 17.94 million barrels per day by the end of 2025, the lowest since June 2022.